The grand festival of Chiapa de Corzo: heritage and cultural tourism, family-owned Msmes and social economy in southern Mexico
Abstract
The Grand Festival of Chiapa de Corzo, in Chiapas, Mexico, is celebrated from January 4 to 23, and is one of the most representative expressions of our country's intangible cultural heritage. Recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010, this festival brings together religious, historical, and community elements around the dances of the Parachicos, the Chuntás, the Chiapanecas, the Naval Battle, and the processions dedicated to Saint Sebastian the Martyr, Saint Anthony Abbot, and the Lord of Esquipulas (UNESCO, 2010).
It represents a high-impact tourist attraction, with an influx exceeding 100,000 visitors annually, generating significant income for local families (Visit Mexico, 2025). At the same time, the festival stimulates a local economy based on artisanal production, traditional gastronomy, family-run lodging, and tourist services.
Family-run microenterprises—dedicated to the making and selling of masks, costumes, typical foods, festival logistics, and handicrafts for tourism—operate under principles of cooperation, reciprocity, and territorial rootedness, characteristic of the social and solidarity economy (Coraggio, 2011). However, it is possible to observe that these initiatives seem to lack mechanisms that strengthen their sustainability, scalability, and, above all, the preservation of identity-based tourism—that is, the connection with the roots of the inhabitants and visitors who, year after year, return to dress and dance as Parachicos, Chuntás, and Chiapanecas to become the main figures and enjoy their festival.
This document, employing a documentary and hermeneutic methodology based on a review of relevant sources and interviews with stakeholders involved in and connected to the festival, presents the main characteristics of the cultural practices that define the festival as Living Heritage; identifies the local economic actors involved in the production of goods and services; and evaluates the prevailing conditions of sustainability and scalability mechanisms in family-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and community networks.
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